Popeye Was Right

Apparently, fresh spinach is as popular on menus today as it
was 20 years ago when the spinach-and-mushroom salad began showing
up right and left. Annie Somerville, who is the chef at Greens,
San Francisco's pioneering whole-foods restaurant, points out:
"Every single day we offer at least three dishes that feature
spinach. We use it in soups and stir-fries, as a filling for
phyllo pies, and in raw salads. People just can't seem to get
enough of it."

There are good reasons to try
to get enough, though. This dark, leafy green supplies the body
with the potassium necessary for maintaining essential fluid
balance. It's also an excellent source of beta-carotene and
vitamin C; both are important antioxidants linked to the
prevention of some types of cancer. Finally, spinach contains
plenty of iron (6.4 milligrams in one cup of a steamed serving
compared to 0.8 milligram in three ounces of poached skinless,
boneless chicken breast) to help carry oxygen through the
blood.

And just like the chef at Greens, I had no
trouble coming up with new ways to serve spinach. The following
recipes demonstrate why sometimes you just can't get enough of a
good thing.